Unveiling of painting to celebrate 125 years of Ladies' Singles at AELTCC

Yesterday afternoon the Chairwoman of the trustees of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, Dame Shirley Porter, unveiled a painting commissioned to celebrate 125 years of Ladies’ Singles at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The painting was commissioned from Prince Charles who attended the unveiling ceremony in army battle dress.

This painting is one of only a few that the Prince has painted in oils; his favourite medium being water colour. After the Prince had unveiled the painting Dame Shirley appeared lost for words before making a short speech and then apologised for having to depart for another engagement.

Brain Sewell, art citic for the London Evening Standard remarked that the painting was worthy of the the omnium gatherum of British Comic Art as currently assembled for us by Tate Britain as a summer treat — Britannia with her skirts up – Britannia with her arse and fanny under the magnifying glass. He said the pose looked familiar but he couldn’t put his finger on it; possibly classical Greek, perhaps Athenian.

The painting was originally intended to hang in The Kenneth Ritchie Wimbledon Library but several of the trustees opined that the broad consensus now was that the painting would be hung in the Museum Gift Shop and that posters of the painting would be made available for sale to the public.